


Passionfruit,Honey & Ramen Noodles

by PrincesaParkerina



Series: Vanilla/Frutilla [3]
Category: Junior Express (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - High School, I am awful awful with tags, M/M, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-17
Packaged: 2020-01-14 15:17:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18478885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincesaParkerina/pseuds/PrincesaParkerina
Summary: Teenager Arnoldo finds himself at Francis' house after another regular ocurrence of his Dad,Enzo's abuse.Will Arnoldo's pride allow him seek help or he'll remain taken over by his deep fears?Francis is willing to listen as always.





	Passionfruit,Honey & Ramen Noodles

**Author's Note:**

> I always wanted to see how their dynamic would work if there wasn't a huge age gap in the way.  
> I genuinely think they would work well as a thing,even with most of Arnoldo's personality intact and as anyone can see,I will go to great lengths to show it.

"Francis,Francis,Francis, don't do this, don't do that....those cups are not for playing around ,they're for drinking...blah blah blah...he thinks he's your Dad or something...why couldn't he just be a cool big brother like Julio..." the 15-year-old boy huffed,he had mimicked one of his older brothers,Rodrigo's voice,articulating his hands,doing poses and all.

Julio always tells him he's very good at impersonating people,Francis takes everything the older teen says to him as absolute truth. 

Even if sometimes he shouldn't.

Although,it's not that hard to imitate his older brothers,the three Graham Siblings are of different age-ranges but still scarily similar,physically speaking and even their voices.

All of them are short,somewhat lean with thick,black curls for hair,big nose,identical brown-green eyes accompannied by long lashes.

Rodrigo's 21,the tallest and leanest,likes to keep his curls short and always come back home during College Breaks,he's the ~~boring,~~ _responsible_ one who 'ruins their fun'.

Julio's 18,thick,broad shoulders and thin legs,has the tallest and messiest curls out of the three and is the shortest,he's a goofball 24/7,you can always count on him to make you feel better.

Francis is 15,different from his brothers,he likes to comb his curls very neatly,thin,frail and timid yet very determined,talented and skilled at everything he sets his mind to.

Downside about Francis: It's not fun to compete against him,he always wins,doesn't matter what it is.

Downside about Rodrigo: He's a square who's always bossing them around.

Downside about Julio: He will do anything in his power to not let you see him cry.

Which,as far as Francis is concerned can be just as annoying as Rodrigo,the dark haired youngest Graham sibling only wants to help.

Julio should know by now his brothers don't really want someone who is happy all the time,they just want their brother. 

Who cries and has feelings like everyone else.

Francis took a sip of water recalling back to the last time it happened,Julio was supposed to go to Film School this year but was very upset he couldn't and refused to tell his youngest brother why.

Francis had to find out through eavesdropping that the aspiring filmmaker couldn't leave him alone,all by himself.

"That's not fair! You were gonna stay at Topa's until they came back! Everything was planned!" Francis banged a fist on the counter in frustration,gripping the border firmly afterwards to control his breathing,keeping his tears in check.

Francis cried about this enough already.

"He shouldn't stay stuck here because of you,Francis....You're holding him back...."

The curly-haired teen hadn't bothered to turn the lights on,he didn't intend to stay down here too long,all he wanted was a glass of water and he had gotten that already.

The very one he almost let it fall to the ground and was now grasping to it tightly with one hand,the talented teen with dark olive eyes gasped softly,covering his mouth with his other hand and taking a step back upon seeing a large shadow moving by the window.

The shadow shuffled in place,seemingly caught,running albeit slowly out of sight,the rustling of leaves outside only made Francis' heart beat even faster.

The talented teen's trembling hand sat down the empty glass of water by the counter slowly,looking around for something he could use to defend himself,people in movies and TV always seem to have a baseball bat nearby.

"That is just not realistic,now is it...." Francis mumbled to himself,jumping the opposite direction upon hearing a thump than a loud groan outside,there is definitely  _someone_ in their backyard,he has to do something and fast.

Broom it is,he is armed and ready even if he can barely see a thing without a flashlight but if he ran up to his room to get one,he might not gather enough courage to come back down.

If whoever is outside take all their belongings away then murder his brothers, it's all on him and the damn flashlight.

"You can do this,Francis,you can do this,you don't need to bother anyone,you can handle it on your own,like you always do-"

The curly-haired boy stepped outside into the cold night air,frail body shaking around the broom,flinching upon stepping bare feet into the cool grass,he remained stepping forward slowly.

"You can't do this,Francis,you can't do this,you were so very wrong,just.... go back to bed and let them rob whatever they want,it's ok, it's...you'll....you'll find a job and pay Julio and Rodrigo back everything and-"

"Hah! You are such a coward,Francis,I can't believe you're- Ow ow ow... stop it! It's me,Francis! Stop it,per favore!!! I'm...pleading you...." A somewhat familiar booming voice started confidently in between chuckles but when Francis' mind registered it,it was too late.

"Ar- Arnoldo?!" Francis stopped his loud screams,shrieks and movements abruptly,broom up in the air mid-hit,heart racing out of his chest,trying to catch his breath.

Francis looked down to find the silhouette of Arnoldo,iluminated only by the faint moon light above them,falling to his knees wincing in great pain after the hard hits the curly-haired teen gave to the other's face and stomach.

"Oh,Arnoldo,I'm so sorry!!! Are you okay? I didn't know it was you!!! You scared me....It's kind of late for you to be here....Want to come in? I can make some tea if you want,though I think I'm out of honey because of last time-"

"No,Francis,it's okay.I'm okay,I should get going anyway,I-...hmph" Arnoldo interrupted Francis' nervous,apologetic rambling with clear pain and restrain to his usual loud,confident manner.

His legs and stomach,face and arms were hurting so bad from the bruises,none of which caused by Francis who attacked him just now mistaking him for a stranger.

Arnoldo gave up trying to stand up and fell face first by the low grass as if dead weight.

"Arnoldo!!!!" Francis found himself yelling in panic,throwing the broom aside and kneeling down to attend his clearly distressed friend.

"I'm fine,Francis,I just need some time to get acquainted with this nice,friendly grass right here then I should leave- Ayyy! Don't touch me! Stay away from me!" Arnoldo mumbled in aggravation.Francis was just not helping the older brunet teen feel miserable in peace.

By himself,more preferably.

No,there's a reason he's here,Arnoldo needs anything but being alone right now.

"I'm sorry! I'm only trying to help you,you're the one who came here...wait a second,don't move." as if he could,the aspiring cook heard Francis stand up,part of him wished the younger teen would just leave,go to sleep and forget he saw anything.

But that's just not how Francis works,the larger teen with bright brown hair learned quickly.

And it's not what he really wants either,just hearing the raven-haired teen's worried voice was helping his intense pain somewhat already.

At least the emotional one.

His entire body hurt so much a simple touch from Francis seemed to burn his skin through his clothes,this was a bad idea,he shouldn't have come here,he just wanted to see Francis so he could feel a bit better (and it seemed to be working) but Arnoldo definitely can't let the curly-haired teen see him like this.

So weak,vulnerable,miserable,covered in nasty bruises,that's not how you want your good friend of 3 months and gigantic crush to see you.

Arnoldo came to Argentina with his Dad 4 months ago,his parents got divorced,Nunciatina stayed in Palermo with his brother,Rocco and the aspiring cook came to this end of the world called Pilar where Enzo knows old friends who easily found him a new property to open his own local restaurant.

The one where the large teen is currently working as a cook's assistant and waiter,it's....not fun.

Definitely not the way it used to be when he worked for the restaurant owned by both his parents back in Italy.

Arnoldo was dreading this move more than anything,he always heard he had family in Argentina but his Spanish/Castellano is embarassingly affected by his heavy accent.

He has to keep scaring away kids who keep making fun of it but it always somewhat calms his insecurities and impulsive nerves to have seen Francis and Topa once defend him against Natalio,who said it was ridiculous but Francis had said he found it quite charming and Topa agreed,saying accents are also very romantic.

Arnoldo laughed so hard the next day at school when both him and Francis saw Natalio come in dressed in stereotypical French attire,trying his legitimate 'French accent' on Topa with 'omelette du fromage' style pick up lines.

Topa shook his head and laughed it off,saying Natalio was acting and looking so silly,Arnoldo would have said the taller teen looked stupid,but that will do.

Francis beside him needed no effort to look the most beautiful thing Arnoldo has ever seen,trying to stiffle cute little giggles by putting a hand over his mouth.

"Natalio really doesn't look good with a mustache,now does he?" the curly-haired teen commented in between his adorable laugh.

Adorable,cute,beautiful,the cook apprentice hates how these words keep clouding his mind everytime the subject decides to be Francis.

And his mind had decided on that subject often these days,at school,at the restaurant Arnoldo hopes Francis will never even know the color of.

The brunet,young waiter didn't meet Francis in the best of circunstances,Arnoldo feels all his problems dissipate away everytime he's with the talented younger teen and Francis MUST feel the same since he always agree to hang out or never send him away everytime Arnoldo knocks at his door after work.

Yet that nagging feeling that Francis does it only because he owes Arnoldo something for very much saving him that day just won't go away.

The aspiring cook hopes to anyone out there who will listen that,please,make it be that Francis actually,genuinely enjoys his company because he's been here only 3 months yet he feels like he would have gone insane already without a Francis to go to when it's all over.

Arnoldo's father,Enzo Bertolazzi hadn't really been treating him well for a while now.

Most specifically 6 years ago when the older Italian Chef tried to touch him...very innapropriately and got a fistful of enraged ten-year-old Arnoldo to the face,the boy wouldn't get away with this that easily,unfortunately.

And if he ever let Nunciatina know,it would be much worse.

His parents ended up breaking up due to Enzo cheating on his mamma with another woman,much younger whose the name Arnoldo's sure his dad doesn't even remember anymore.

Enzo was triumphant on the plane trip here,too certain he'd finally have Arnoldo come around since they will be finally by themselves and he will have no choice but oblige without any family members around for him to hide behind anymore.

Arnoldo groaned from the back of his throat and opened his pained eyes upon sensing the outside lights turning on,a peaceful looking white hue covering the bushes and gardening around him,Francis takes care of those with the help of Carlos and the red-haired boy's mom,Lila or something like that,who cares.

_Carlos._

Arnoldo is in too much pain right now to properly say the blue-eyed teen's name in a dramatic,mocking manner.

The older teen is very tall,skinny,blue eyes,charming quirks,quiet personality.

Everything Arnoldo's not.

Short,fat,ill-tempered,boring brown eyes,he's no catch,he already lost this one by a long shot.

And probably the one against his dad too,if he doesn't give in soon,he'll very likely end up killed.

It's just how his world works. 

"Arnoldo...Arr noll do,I know you're still there,please,I just want to know what's wrong..." Francis shook the older teen's large shoulder gently,with a caring,light touch,Arnoldo only grunted,refusing to move.

"I'm okay,Francis,go to bed,I'll be gone before you even blink,I promise." Arnoldo murmured against the grass,he heard a little stubborn huff from Francis and felt two thin hands grabbing firmly on each of his shoulders trying to make the aspiring cook turn on his back.

Tears prickled at the corners of Arnoldo's eyes,he tried to suppress a sob,ouch,this hurts so much and it doesn't help Francis is touching him with so much care and delicacy still,his heart is beating Impossibly fast and his skin is burning under the thick red coat and light blue undershirt.

_He can't see you, he can't see you, he can't see you, he can't see you, he can't-_

"Arnoldo!!!" 

With some great effort,Francis had finally managed to turn Arnoldo on his back,only to gasp loudly upon seeing that very much half the aspiring cook's round face had sick-looking shades of purple and red to it.

The older teen said nothing,only remained still,this position did feel better,it felt nice to rest his head back like this,he couldn't even bring himself to bother with the fact he was letting his shiny,shoulder length,straight light brown hair touch the dirty,cold grass.

Arnoldo inhaled and exhaled softly,defeatedly,closing his reddened,tear-stained eyes,ready for another blow.

One to his heart,the only thing left in him.

"Arnoldo,talk to me! Y- You look awful! What happened? I need to get you inside and put some ice on that swelling or it will only get worse." Francis said rushing in a very worried yet determined tone,already on his way to pushing Arnoldo up carefully by his arm,the brunet teen wouldn't budge except to wince and flinch due to the unbearable pain he was going through during Francis' tries to at least sit him up.

"That's very nice and thoughtful of you,Francis but I don't need it." 

"Yes you do,Arnoldo,I can't help you if you don't help yourself."

"I don't need- Ouch,fine.But I'm only going because it's cold out here and I'm craving that hot,spiced honey tea I taught you last week."

Francis rolled his eyes but smiled fondly,Arnoldo was leaning all his weight on him and it was an effort to even take a small walk back inside.

Still,he sensed something was very wrong and Arnoldo really needed him right now.

"Arnoldo....I don't think I have those spices you like anymore either."

"Quééé?????"

* * *

"Franciiiiis,that's enough,I said I'm fine...You got any passionfruit,by the way?" Arnoldo said in a drowsy,slurred manner,Francis sighed wearily and applied more pressure to the older,brunet teen's round cheek with an ice pack.

It's roughly an hour since Francis found Arnoldo on his backyard, 4 cups of chai tea later and the boy refuses to touch on the real reason as to why he surged at Francis' house at midnight looking like a giant blueberry.

"Hey,I heard that!" Arnoldo pulled away from the younger teen's gentle touch,very much personally offended.

"Oh,did I say that out loud? Sorry,but the mental image was really funny." Francis chuckled to himself,dipping his head,his free hand going back to fumble with the buttons of the new top hat pyjamas Rodrigo bought him.

They have been trying to be quiet as to not awake Francis' brothers,this task has not been easy at all since Arnoldo just seems to be loud by nature,must be an Italian thing.

Julio knows Arnoldo,he's happy anytime he sees the young cook apprentice because it always means delicious food he could never dream of trying to make,also whenever Arnoldo's around he always makes sure both Graham siblings won't forget to eat.

Which is greatly appreciated,the large,teen waiter says it's no problem,Cooking is his passion and they were looking just so skinny,he was not raised like this.

Arnoldo is used to big,family dinners,lunches,breakfasts and brunches with a great,large variety of food and everyone needs to be at the table or no one eats.

The brunet apprentice is just not used to this whole 'eating whenever' or 'not eating for days' thing,something tells him he's here to fix this and he's gonna.

They are happy and well fed and It's a good enough distraction,no one loses here,honestly.

On the other hand,Rodrigo.... wouldn't really like to see a _stranger_ sneaking in to see Francis after everyone's asleep,that's for sure.

"You think that's funny,Francis??? You think my _pain_ is funny??? Look me right in the face and tell _me_ what I think of that!" Arnoldo struggled to do a comically angry expression,his face didn't look as bad and swollen anymore,but the small effort still deeply pained him.

And Francis saw it clear as a sunshine day in Italy.

"I think....you admitted you're in pain so it means we're finally making progress....?" Francis said tentatively,arching a thick eyebrow and grinning sympathetically,patting Arnoldo's shoulder stiffly watching the other teen scoot away involuntarily.

"I'm not in pain,I'm fine! How many times do I have to tell you until it gets to your head,Francis! It's like you don't even listen to a word I say! Arnoldo,Future Grand Chef _NEVER_ feels pain,now what about that passionfruit,I want to bake pie."

Arnoldo stood up,suddenly feeling very agitated,tempted to take his coat off but unwilling to show Francis he had much more bruises than he thought the aspiring magician could really handle.The cook apprentice might just be too much more trouble than he's worth.

Or at least,that's what he's been told,many times.

He needed a distraction fast or he'll spill everything to Francis,then his dad will find out somehow,then it's over.

He dies,Francis marries Carlos,everyone happy,the end.

"Arnoldo,I don't have that,you know that...." the distressed brunet in question dismissed him entirely and opened the refrigerator.

Arnoldo did a dramatic gasp,putting a careful hand to his pained chest in mock shock.

"WHAT A DISGRACE! THERE IS NOTHING HERE! ONLY RAMEN NOODLES!!! HOW DO YOU PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THIS,FRANCIS???? HOW DO YOU SURVI-"

"Shhh,Arnoldoooo,it's 1am,there are people asleep,Rodrigo is back and he's not familiar with you yet,he won't like to see you here."

"Of course,he will,Francis,don't be silly....this family would have long starved without me,none of you can cook to save your lives,he should thank me,now let's go...." Arnoldo closed the fridge,pulling Francis by the arm unintentionally roughly and leading them out the same back door he came in,Francis fruitlessly tried to pry himself out of the larger teen's strong hold.

"Go where??? Where are we going at this hour???"

"Matarazzo's Marketplace,it's open 24/7 and I can get anything I want there because he's associates with my dad,now come on,we're wasting time we could be using to cook."

Francis suddenly forgot for a moment he was in the street at 1am in his pjs at the very random mention of Arnoldo's Dad.

Francis knows from Topa that the boy came to town with his dad and his family got divided.

Arnoldo talked for hours to Francis at school and practicing on Francis' kitchen about how great Italy is,how much he loves his mom,how much he misses his younger brother and his cousins,the four of them used to play a lot together,some of the best days of his life,he said.

Yet the young apprentice never seems to mention his dad (and boss) ever.Francis doesn't think he ever saw the man personally during these months.

Arnoldo never took him to Enzo's new restaurant either,too bad,if the food there is anything like Arnoldo's,he already knows it's beyond delicious.

Francis had a suspiscious face while he sat on the extremely comfortable passenger seat to Arnoldo's red maserati that he reallyyyy shouldn't be driving on either country for at least one more year,it always panicked the curly-haired teen to his core but he had to admit the fake ID Arnoldo's dad got him looked too good.

There's no good looking fake ID that could cover the older teen's somewhat reckless driving though.

Arnoldo avoids mentioning his dad like the plague,he refuses to say where he got those nasty bruises or even acknowledge them to Francis at all.

Francis likes to think he's a smart kid.

Most times.

Perceptive kid might be the better word,the talented teen concluded after another one of Arnoldo's careless,dangerous turns.

The young cook apprentice isn't really a bad driver,he's just a very smug one who's too sure he won't ever get caught.

Francis eyed with curious,intrigued olive eyes the driver beside him,smirking at the agitated,clearly still pained boy,sitting stiffly in the expensive cushions of the driver's seat.

There's so much more he wants to know about Arnoldo,he's so charming,intriguing,funny,knowledgeable,strong....handsome, Francis feels like he could follow him anywhere.

Round,friendly face,sweet cheeks,warm brown eyes,long lashes,gorgeous hair that matches his eyes.

Francis is in so much trouble.

"Arrnollldooo..."

"Sí, Francis." the brunet teen replied without missing a beat or taking his restless eyes from the road,his heart does flutter everytime Francis says his name like that.

The skilled younger teen probably thinks he's doing it to annoy him,the effect is opposite.

"Why won't you take me to your dad's restaurant? I bet it's pretty nice there."

Francis found himself being thrown forcibly forward,being painfully held back by the seatbelt and instinctively covering his ears upon the loud screech the car made when Arnoldo hit the breaks with all his might,both trying to catch their breath afterwards.

After almost a full minute as if nothing happened Arnoldo looked to Francis beside him with a sudden confused expression.

"What are you still doing sitting like a statue inside the car,Francis!!! We're here!!! Let's go!"

"You didn't even unlock the d-"

"Ahora,Francis,you know I don't like to be kept waiting."

The younger teen rolled his eyes and huffed,stepping outside with his light blue crocs shoes once Arnoldo finally unlocked the doors.

He really only wanted a glass of water.

How does he keep getting himself into deep trouble like this.

**Author's Note:**

> This.....was me trying to do a sequence of "short drabbles" with Teen Arnoldo/Francis.  
> Look how well THAT turned out


End file.
